The food you eat is more than just a means to satiate your hunger. It can also be a means to maintain caste hegemony. Caste on the Menu Card , a documentary made by a group of former Tata Institute of Social Sciences students, explores the dynamics of caste, food and livelihood, and the underpinning politics of inclusion and exclusion through the restriction on beef eating.
Last month, after the Information and Broadcasting Ministry refused to give a clearance to the film’s screening at a festival in Delhi, it received nearly 50,000 hits on YouTube in just three days.
What began as a humble class project on beef-eating practices in Mumbai, by classmates Ananyaa Gaur, Anurup Khillare, Atul Anand, Reetika Revathy Subramanian and Vaseem Chaudhary, slowly became the talk of campuses across India. The Hindu caught up with the team.
How and why did you think of making this documentary?
Atul Anand: The spark for the film came from the TISS campus itself. Some students had complained about beef being cooked in hostel rooms. The authorities then took away the hot plates under the ostensible reason of incurring high power bills. Students were angry and there came a demand that beef and pork should be included in the dining hall menu. A general body meeting was organised to discuss the issue.
Ananyaa Gaur: The class was given the theme of caste. While others explored the link between caste and marriage or caste and language, we thought of studying its link with food.
Reetika: We took time to engage with our individual caste, class and geographical locations.
In the film, there is a focus on the vegetarian spread served during a Hindu festival on campus.
Atul: It questions the idea of what gets sanctioned and what is blocked. Some cultural practices are allowed whereas some are not.
You are served ‘pulao’ and ‘jalebi’ during a festival, but for some beef and pork can be prasad . For instance, in the film a student from the northeast says at the general body meeting that eating ‘paneer’ and ‘roti’ was a culture shock for him. There was a joke on campus that chicken was being served so at least chicken was secular.
You made this documentary even before the Dadri killing and the Bill was approved. What do you think of the ban on cow slaughter?
Atul: The cow is an image — just like the image of the Bharat Mata as a fair woman. They don’t have a problem with the killing of a buffalo. As Prof Avatthi Ramaiah points out in the film, there is a hierarchy for animals too.
What was your response when I&B ministry restricted the screening of your film for the Jeevika festival?
Atul: It certainly came as a shock. We had already had three screenings earlier and therefore we never felt there would be such a big controversy. In fact, we have consciously avoided controversial remarks. Moreover, the project was supervised by our professors. We made a conscious decision not to challenge any particular person or institution and only deal with the issue. It was only at this festival that we were singled out and not given clearance. After that we received many invitations for screenings in various cities, including Mumbai.
What did you find while studying the subject of beef-eating in Mumbai?
Atul: We realised how this right to choose what you eat is many a times not really a choice. People need access to cheap protein like beef, not as a preference, but for survival. There was also the question of how inclusive are dining halls, if campuses could be considered as a microcosm for the nation.
